A vision for fashion

Rodney Smith's photography was elegant, surreal and meticulously crafted. His often-overlooked work deserves greater acclaim, photographic historian and curator Anne Morin tells David Clark

- David Clark

If one thinks of major fashion photographers of the 1980s and '90s, leading figures such as Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, Nick Knight and others come to mind.

Rodney Smith may not, despite his distinctively surreal, whimsical work for high-profile brands such as Ralph Lauren and magazines including the New York Times and Vanity Fair.

Why isn't he more famous? 'I think history makes many mistakes,' answers Anne Morin, editor and curator of a new Rodney Smith career retrospective book and exhibition. 'Smith wasn't just a fashion photographer commissioned by big brands, he was a really visionary man, an artist who put photography at the service of his vision. He has been really undervalued and I think the new book and exhibitions put him in the place he deserves to be.

'His photography is not just a simple wink towards the surreal world - behind it is a huge ability in terms of taking pictures. Everything is real, there's nothing retouched, and however he makes you believe the illusion, he never lies. He uses photography as an artist and there's a huge moral integrity in terms of the way he uses it.'

Smith's work is often described as dreamlike and It also undoubtedly includes an element of playfulness and humour. Influenced by artists such as René Magritte, writers including Lewis Carroll and filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, his images have a slightly unreal appearance and people are shown in all kinds of unusual, mysterious and intriguing situations. His elegant, well-dressed models may be shown jumping over a hay bale, doing a cartwheel on a sea wall or almost entirely covered by a giant top hat. Equally they may be shown standing on a boat in a flooded forest or posing like the hands on a giant clock.